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Game ideas:Self-Creating Environment
Tagged: for cleaning up into something more coherent and qualitive for encyclopaedic style material. Nota Bene: Since this user references Baldur's Gate II a fair bit, see External Links for relevant links to an open source effort for recreating the Infinity Engine (the engine in Baldur's Gate I/II, Icewind Dale etc). Additional: The author of this game idea talks about a NPC system that has actually already been developed. However it is not used to create quests, since the game already had over 600 quests inside. This system is fairly new( at the time of writing this, anyway). It is used in the sequel to Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind, Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion. The system itself is called radiant AI and is used for the first time ever in Oblivion. This idea came to me when playing Morrowind. It happened that a captain had some Skooma in his ship (not really hidden - just in a locked deck in a locked chest behind some sacks and in a dark section ;). In the first moment I just smiled - ha! a smuggler! - but then I realized he'll never get punished, the Skooma will never reach its destination and there is no poor addict who will buy the Skooma from the captain. Now, a game (probably RPG) with really NPCs would be nice - y'know, the developer just sets some parameters - e.g. personality for some more importants - and then lets them develop. Together with some random "catastrophes", this can get really interesting. For example, there's a salesman. Y'know, one of those who transports people. He tries to keep the moral ground up high. But now there's a storm, and his ship sinks. He barely survives and somehow manages to swim back to the coast. He and his family (wife, three children) may live a while on spare money. But now, how does his future develop? Perhaps a friend gets him a job - then everything turns out fine. Or another friend, who isn't that honest, offers Mr. Sailesman to get into a smuggling thing. What does he now do? Perhaps he declines. Then he has to get money in another way - he could even work as a mercenary, perhaps for the character! Or he doesn't quite manage it, gets into poverty, has to leave his house and finally ends up in the "Poverty Mission of Skar'garrak"! Or he doesn't decline the offer, smuggles, gets caught by the guard, ends up in the prison and meets the PC who hasn't been a too good thief! GEEZ, PERHAPS HE EVEN RAGES AT THE GODS HATING HIM FOR NO REASON AND MAKES UP A NEW CULT FOR NEW GODS! What a tredemendous set for a new, self-creating subquest. Just as in real life: There is an interesting story full of tragic and herosim behind each window. The best thing: Probably something complety different happens. There are myrads of possibilities in the micro thing. But now the macro thing! The politics is created by *really* pseudoalive NPCs- there will be rebellions, or there won't. The people could arise (probably led by Mr. Sailesman), or they couldn't. The PC could line up with one of the forces - if he is already famous, this could really, really affect further parts of the rebellion. E. g., which normal soldier or even farmer would dare to fight a level 60 half-god elf mage with more shield magic than there are soldiers in the army? They could then try to pick the hero with a bounty hunter assassin. In my wildest dreams, that assassin would be a former party member the player set packing with unfriendly words who then rages at him. Ever played BGII? Now imagine what'd happen if you just leave Minsc in Irenicus' dungeon. He'd probably manage to escape and then... well! Geez, perhaps even the king finally decides to throw back the orcs and employs one of the "smaller" NPCs - a good choice would proabably be Mr. Sailesman because he turns out to get a pirate general but comes back to the "good guys" when amnesty gets offered. Or you could work for him (king, not sailesman). A level 60 half-god mage is always good for morale and in combat. But thats not what I mean. I mean that pirates form alliances and attack traders. The king has just decided to throw out the goblins, and so the soldiers are to weak to stop the attacks. If the traders don't manage to line up and get mercenaries, many cities will starve and shrink due to lack of supplies. The environment is dynamic, and not the pre-defined kind of dynamic most worlds are. Shouldn't be too much work for the developer(s) - just set up some personality for persons (not all, be sure to let some things get generated randomly), some "starting positions" and... zap! The king gets killed by an assassin! The cleric sets in a new king! Mr. Sailesman's cult doesn't like that one and gives you the quest to kill him! You get king! Orcs threaten the kingdom! It just shouldn't happen too slow (an event each day is toooooo feeeeeeeew) or too fast (Level 1! Starting Village crushed by a demon cult! You decline to line up with them! You dead! <- but this isn't Nethack whose only purose is to kill players, and being in a demon cult themselves is one of the deeper wishes of most RPG-players. At least of the veterans) Best 2 b combined with that "General ideas for a truly great FP-RPG"-ideas. If you like this, be sure to ask for my E-Mail address! Let's create the next KotOR - killer! And please excuse my grammar and wording, as I get exited everytime I think/talk/write about this. External Links http://gemrb.sourceforge.net/ GemRB Source Forge (Infinity Engine recreation effort) http://forums.gibberlings3.net/index.php?showforum=91 GemRB Forums http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20060626/strom_01.shtml Evolving Pathfinding Algorithms Using Genetic Programming (can be used for a lot more than pathfinding) Category:Game ideas